June 5, 1913] 



NATURE 



;&5 



May 24 this comet appeared as a circular nebulosity 

 1-5' diameter, magnitude between S and 9. There 

 was a diffuse nucleus but no tail. — Nicolas Krylofi ; 

 Some properties of integral equations with non-sym- 

 metrical nucleus. — J. Tamarkine : The problem of the 

 development of an arbitrary function in a Sturm- 

 Liouville scries. — W. F. Osgood : An extension of a 

 theorem of Weierstrass and on a restriction of another 

 theorem by the same author. — M. d'Ocagne : The 

 general application of the method of aligned points 

 to problems which reduce themselves to solutions of 

 spherical triangles. — Th. Got : The equivalence of cer- 

 tain indefinite ternary quadratic forms of the same 

 genus. — L. Decombe : The viscosity of the atom. In 

 the absorption of light and in certain abnormal di- 

 electric phenomena an explanation is found in a 

 certain viscosity term, proportional to the velocity, 

 and regarded hitherto as an empirical term. An 

 attempt is made to connect this with the fundamental 

 print iples of mechanics. — A. Tian : The relation be- 

 tween light energy and photochemical action. An 

 examination of the conditions under which the law 

 of proportionality between photochemical effect and 

 light absorption is verified. — L. Chaumont : The theory 

 of apparatus serving for the study of elliptically 

 polarised light. — R. Fortrat : The normal magnetic- 

 triplet and Preston's rule. — Jacques Carvallo : The 

 elei ti i< al conductivity of pure ether. An arrangement 

 is described securing the perfect isolation of the elec- 

 trodes. Under a constant difference of potential of 

 1144 volts the conductivity diminished slowly for eight 

 days, after which it remained constant. The extremely 

 small residual conductivity observed is attributed to 

 traces of impurities. — Keivin Burns : Interference 

 measurements of wave-lengths in the iron spectrum. 

 Employing the methods of Buisson and Fabry, interfer- 

 ence measurements of the iron lines have been extended 

 from wave-length 6500 to 8824. — Felix Bidet : The dis- 

 placement limit of monoethylamine by ammonia gas. 

 A study of the influence of temperature and pressure 

 on the equilibrium limit and on the velocity of the 

 reaction. — Georges Charpy and Andre Cornu : The 

 separation of graphite in alloys of iron and silicon. — A. 

 Recoura ; The instability of ferric fluosilicate and its 

 spontaneous transformation into another double 

 fluoride of silicon and iron. — J. B. Senderens and J. 

 Abmilenc : The ester salts derived from octanol by the 

 method of the authors ; observations on the principle 

 of this method. The application of the use of small 

 quantities of sulphuric acid (2 per cent, to 3 per cent.) 

 in the catalytic fonnation of esters. — Georges Dupont : 

 The catalytic hydrogenation of the acetylene 7-glvcols 

 in presence of palladium black. Acetylene glycols of 

 the fatty series treated with hydrogen and palladium 

 black are more highly reduced than when platinum 

 black is used. A mixture of a saturated glycol, 

 alcohol, and hydrocarbon is produced. The difference 

 between the two catalytic agents is still more marked 

 with the aromatic acetylenic glycols, platinum giving 

 the saturated glycols only, palladium the hydrocarbons. 

 A. Guyot and J. Martinet : The condensation of the 

 primary and secondary aromatic amines with the 

 mesoxalic esters. Synthesis in the indole series. — 

 Jean Niviere : The action of a-monochlorohydrin and 

 epichlorohydrin upon the monosodium derivative of 

 glycerol. — Marcel Lantenois : Some new properties of 

 carbon tetraiodide and its estimation in presence of 

 iodoform. Carbon tetraiodide reacts with an aqueous 

 solution of stiver nitrate giving carbon dioxide, nitric 

 acid, and silver nitrate; iodoform, with the same 

 reagent, gives carbon monoxide, silver iodide, and 

 iodate and nitric acid. When aqueous solution of 

 silver nitrate is allowed to act upon a mixture of iodo- 

 form and carbon tetraiodide the proportion of carbon 

 monoxide and dioxide evolved serves accurately to 



no. 2275, V0L - 9 1 ] 



indicate the composition of the mixture.- Henri Potte- 

 vin : Cholera toxin and antitoxin.- A. Besredka : 

 Study of the tubercle bacillus. A description of a good 

 liquid medium for the culture of the tubercle bacillus. 

 JLiic growth aner twenty-lour hours in this liquid is as 

 ..:.iM]..;,m as that oi an ordinary microbe sui h as strepto- 

 coccus. Bovine and human bacilli give distinctive 

 growths in this medium. — Mini-. A. Hufnagel : A 

 perieesophagian organ observed in two Lepidoptera. — 

 Em. Bourquelot and Em. Verdon ; The use of increas- 

 ing proportions of glucose in the biochemical synthesis 

 of /3-methylglucoside. The influence of the glucoside 

 formed on the arrest of the reaction. 



Calcutta. 

 Asiatic Society of Bengal, May 7. — D. Prain and I. H. 

 Burkill : A synopsis of the Dioscoreas of the Old 

 World, Africa excluded, with descriptions of new 

 species and of varieties. Diagnoses of new species 

 and varieties are given, as well as a key to the genus. 

 — H. M. Chibber ; Variations in the flowers of Lim- 

 nanthemum indicum, Thwaites. Four hundred and 

 fifty-seven flowers were examined and the variations 

 observed are given in tabular form. — Maude L. Cleg- 

 horn : Notes on pollination of Colocasia antiquorum. 

 The paper records some observations on the pollina- 

 tion of the Indian Kachu, and compares it with the 

 process known in the European cuckoo-pint {Arum 

 maculatum). — Jitendra Nath Rakshit : Double com- 

 pounds of mercuric oxide with compounds containing 

 ketonic radical. A compound is described of the 

 formula C,H 6 0, 3HgO. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



British Museum (Natural History). Catalogue of 

 the Plants collected by Mr. and Mrs. P. A. Talbot in 

 the Oban District, South Nigeria. By Dr. A. B. 

 Rendle, E. G. Baker, H. F. YVernham, S. Moore, 

 and others. Pp. x+157+17 plates. (London: The 

 Trustees of the British Museum; Longmans and Co. 

 and others.) 9s. 



British Museum (Natural History). Catalogue of 

 the British Species of Pisidium (Recent and Fossil) 

 in the Collections of the British Museum (Natural 

 History), with Notes on those of Western Europe. 

 By B. B. Woodward. Pp. ix4-i44 + xxx plates. 

 (London : The Trustees of the British Museum ; 

 Longmans and Co. and others.) 10s. 6d. 



Die biologischen Grundlagen der sekundaren 

 Geschlechtscharaktere. By Drs. J. Tandler and S. 

 Grosz. Pp. 169. (Berlin :' J. Springer.) 8 marks. 



Qualitative Analyse vom Standpunkte der Ionen- 

 lehre. Bv Dr. W. Bottger. Dritte Auflage. Pp. 

 xvii-l-565-t-plate. (Leipzig: W. Engelmann.) 11.20 

 marks. 



A Text-Book on Trade Waste Waters : their Nature 

 and Disposal. By Drs. H. M. Wilson and H. T. 

 Calvert. Pp. xii + 340. (London: C. Griffin and Co., 

 Ltd.) 18s. net. 



Preliminarv Chemistrv. Bv H. W. Bausor. Pp. 

 106. (London: W. B. Clive.) is. M. 



Man and his Forerunners. By Prof. H. v. Buttel- 

 Reepen. Translated by A. G. Thacker. Pp. x4-q6. 

 (London : Longmans and Co.) 2s. 6<f. net. 



Researches on Irritability of Plants. By Prof. J. C. 

 Bose. Pp. xxiv + 376. (London: Longmans and Co.) 

 7.V. M. net. 



Egyptian Government. Ministry of Finance. Sur- 

 vey Department. Report on the Work of the Labora- 

 tories and of the Assay Office during 1912. By A. 

 Lucas. Pp. 28. (Cairo : Government Press.) 5 P.T. 



Electric Wiring. Bv Prof. W. C. Clinton. New 

 edition. Pp. viii + 197' (London: J. Murray.) 2s. 



